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Yama
Yama is a gargoyle, a member of Clan Ishimura, and a member of the Redemption Squad. History Yama lived a peaceful life among the gargoyles and humans of Ishimura, Japan. In 1996, he betrayed the clan by aligning himself with a human named Taro, a former student of Kai's, who claimed to be creating an theme park about gargoyles to spread Bushido to the children of the world. To that end, Yama planned in secret with Taro to move the clan from Ishimura to the theme park. After this plan began to unfold, Clan Ishimura met the Avalon travelers. Goliath, Angela, Bronx, Yama, and the remaining gargoyles of Clan Ishimura were taken to the theme park based on gargoyles during the day. Taro told Kai the same story he'd told Yama, but Kai eventually decided not to keep the clan there, despite Yama's protests. Taro responded by hitting Kai with a tranquilizer dart. Yama quickly discovered that he had been deceived, and that Taro planned to introduce the Ishimura clan to the world with a group of reporters. Yama followed the rules of Bushido, and engaged Taro in one-on-one combat. Despite his armor and electrically-charged weapon, Taro lost. Soon, Kai awoke, and the clan went back to Ishimura, where they still live to the present. For disgracing the clan, however, Yama was banished until his last honor could be restored. He was told that he himself would be the judge of when this condition had been fulfilled; a harsh choice by the clan as Yama's judgement of himself was, to quote his mate Sora: "rigid and unforgiving..." She offered to join him, but he refused as to take her with him, would be to ask her to share in his shame, which he would not do. Some months later Yama was recruited into the Redemption Squad by Hunter, Dingo and Matrix, while wandering in Tokyo. Initially he balked at the idea of willingly serving a confessed former Gargoyle hunter, but he was convinced by the carrot of potential redemption and the stick of having the Ishimura clan revealed to the world at large. While angered at the threat he finally agreed becoming the 4th member of the Squad. From there the squad heads to Paris and spends over a month training, often without Hunter. While calmer than the discontented Dingo, Yama does express some frustration at the lack of any real missions in which he could gain his redemption. His first mission takes him to New York where he spends a period in the Casablanca Hotel (room 1303). There he joins in the mission to investigate and then thwart the scheming of Dr Anton Sevarius. Investigating the sewers connected to the Labyrinth, he and Hunter come across Fang and initially Yama overpowers him, but Fang catches them unawares with his electrical discharges and captures them. While in Sevarius cage, he and Hunter are threatened with the possibility of being made mutates of each others species, curiously while Hunter reacts with near blind panic at this, Yama simply asks whose DNA was to be used in each case, which seemed to amuse Sevarius. He and the rest of the team are forced to leave Sevarius and his captives (all of whom have forcible mutated) locked up in order to the prevent the release of Mutate Carrier Virus CV-1997, which Fang was due to release over the New Year's Eve Time Square crowd, mutating nearly everyone present. During the battle Yama demonstrated a disregard for his own safety as he attacked Fang head on, continuing to grapple with him, even as he was being electrocuted. Ultimately he successfully overcame and captured Fang, while Matrix contained the virus. However returning to find that Sevarius had escaped and that in despair; Tasha, one of his victims, had hanged herself, leaving the remaining captives traumatised, in particularly child siblings Erin and Benny, whom the surviving adult captive Thug, sought desperately to comfort. When Fang attempted (as a defense mechanism) to make a joke about it, Yama's patience snapped. Lashing out he forced the mutate to his knees, drew his sword and moved to decapitate Fang, whose life was only saved by Dingo's physical blocking of Yama's swing and Hunter's whispering of unknown words into Yama's ear. He is shown to be clearly angered when Fang is revealed to have been offered a place as the 5th Member of the Squad. Returning to Paris, he and the team are briefed on their next mission, a sortie against the Illuminati Society base of Eastcheap island, which they are to destroy. He was on the helicopter, Redemption, with his squad-mates when they were fired upon by missiles as they approached Eastcheap. Matrix, however, protected them by forming a bubble around his squad-mates. Yama destroyed one of his robotic foes, but was attacked by another. Rescued from this by Fang, he subsequently saved Fang from a robot sneaking up on the Mutate using throwing stars. His battle ends with him ripping the head off a robot that has destroyed his good sword. Journeying into the island he faced off (alongside Matrix) against master swordsman; Points. During the subsequent brief ceasefire meal, he neither eats nor speaks throughout, merely watching. He is then taken, with Fang, to see a recommendation that will prove the Illuminati's good nature, as provided by Thailog, whom Yama intially believes is Goliath with the video monitors colour defective, through Thailog soon introduces himself and asks Fang to vouch for him. Fang duely does so, but Yama correctly realises that by doing so, Fang is subtly hinting that Thailog is dangerous, by playing on the fact that the Squad doesn't trust him. This he brings up in the subsequent meeting within Matrix, insisting that the Illuminati cannot be trusted and when the subsequent battle breaks out, he once again does battle with Points, who proves the greater swordsman, impaling Yama, who responds by forcing the sword deeper through himself, in order to force Points into punching distance and KOing him. He then removes Points's sword and escapes within Matrix when the island begins to sink. Surfacing (Matrix now assuming the form of a Dingy) he speaks to his fellow Squad members, surprisingly endorsing Fang's view that victory is less essential than survival, explaining that all of them (save Matrix) seek redemption and the road to it is neither short, nor easy and that not all will go perfectly. When asked by Dingo when they will know they have found redemption, he begins to explain, before being frozen in stone sleep by the rising sun. Characteristics Yama has gray skin, black hair, and two pairs of curved horns. He has a blade on the end of his tail and blade-like spikes on his forearms. His wings are unusual, with no claws on the wrists, and strange markings that look like feathers. Yama and Sora are mates, although Yama's exile from Ishimura has, for the moment, raised a barrier between them as Yama refuses to share his shame with her. Also, it seems likely that he was Kai's second-in-command until his banishment. Notes * "Yama" 山 means "the mountain" in Japanese. Appearances Category:Clan Ishimura Category:Gargoyles Category:Male gargoyles Category:Redemption Squad